'Panday' won't affect Mariel's Miss International preparations

MANILA – With her inclusion in the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Ang Panday,” some are worried that Mariel de Leon might neglect her preparations for the 2017 Miss International pageant.De Leon, however, was quick to ease the apprehension of her fans.“Oh no, no, [hindi ko papabayaan ang Miss International]. I have time management. It’s all about time management talaga and scheduling,” she said in an interview on Tuesday.The beauty queen, who is the daughter of screen veterans Christopher de Leon and Sandy Andolong, is vying for a back-to-back victory for the Philippines in the international pageant, which was won by Kylie Verzosa last year.

De Leon said she just couldn’t pass up the opportunity of starring in a movie that’s included in the MMFF.“I know I said naman before na hindi na ako mag-aartista pero of course, I also said na I will not close my doors. It would be kind of parang ignorant of me to turn down this opportunity. It’s a big opportunity so I said yes,” she said.De Leon has also yet to absorb the fact that she will be the leading lady of Coco Martin in the movie.“I feel so lucky and blessed, it’s unbelievable talaga,” she said. “I just met him today. I can tell he’s a really genuine nice person. I can’t wait to work with him.”On how she intends to prepare for her movie role, de Leon said: “I want to study my character more and ask my parents for more advice on what I can do in terms of acting. Maybe I’ll take workshops na rin and work on my Tagalog.”